Salikon
by PBCiMoA
Summary: Prompt: The Evanses move into a shelter instead of the motel during S2, Blaine volunteers there. Angst obviously but cuteness please, I hate sad endings. They make me cry.
1. Chapter 1

_Not Mine_

* * *

The shelter is huge, like massive. Sam isn't sure what he's expecting when his mom says they're moving to a shelter but the building he's looking at definitely isn't it. It's one of those older buildings downtown, the brick ones, and the lady who comes out and smiles way too much at everyone says it used to be a hotel, back when people still stayed at hotels in downtown Lima Ohio. Now there are just motels going onto the interstate because people don't come to Lima, they go through.

The smiley woman is named Liza and she starts explaining how everything works and shoots him uncertain glances every time she mentions that it's a homeless shelter, but mostly it's a women's shelter. He doesn't look directly at her when she does this because thinking about men who would hit women who love them or their own children makes him really want to throw up and he's not sure how Liza will react to having the remnants of his leftover pizza on her practical black leather shoes. He finally understands why she keeps looking at him when she explains that there are places inside where he won't be allowed to go.

She also tells them that the shelter is for women and their children up to the age of sixteen and she wishes she could do more for them but...and Sam hasn't even considered that they might still be living in a shelter in May when he turns sixteen but from the look on his mother's face she has. He hasn't actually thought much about any of this and he feels a bit guilty when he realizes he's left his mother all alone taking care of three kids when one of them is definitely old enough to help out.

Stacy tries to read the name above the reception desk when while Liza types stuff into the computer and his mother starts filling out forms. He shifts her over to his other hip and wants to help her but the letters are shiny and metallic with backlighting and he struggles with cursive at the best of times but this might as well be just a squiggly line for all he can tell. Stevie rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath about how it's totally a S and Sam has to keep himself from snapping at Stevie for what feels like the millionth time because Stevie just lost his dad and he's allowed to be angry at the world because he's seven and only just old enough to understand that he's gone. Stacy is only five and trying to learn to read and just wants to be super smart like Stevie.

Sam adjusts Stacy again and steps over to the notice board, shooting Stevie a look when he looks like he's about to wander off. The notice board has all kinds of posters for support groups and events and most of them have the logo from the reception at the top, but some of them have it in print at the bottom and Sam helps Stacy sound the words out, ignoring Stevie's eye roll when she stumbles over the unfamiliar name.

_Salikon Home for Women_

He wonders if Salikon is someone's name or if it means something else but forgets about it when Liza leads them down a corridor and keeps talking to his mother in the same too bright voice she's been using since she introduced herself. Sam volunteers to get the room set up while Liza shows his mother around some more.

They have more stuff still than they can really keep in the small room they're allocated and his mother asks about storage spaces nearby and Liza says she might have a cheaper alternative. The cheaper alternative is a boy named Blaine. He's younger than Sam, but only just, his birthday is in July and Sam's is in May. Blaine goes to Dalton, a fancy all boys boarding school in Westerville, just like the one Sam used to go to, but apparently comes to the shelter every day to help out.

Blaine is polite and helpful and a little too composed for a teenage boy as he helps Sam move things into the room and tells him they can store things in his garage, or if something is terribly sensitive to cold in the guest room just in case, his mother doesn't care and it's a safe neighborhood.

Sam and Blaine pick up the rest of their stuff and pile everything into Blaine's garage at Blaine's house that is huge and empty and there are two cars already in the garage and still space for Blaine's. Blaine is super nice all afternoon in a weird way where all Sam knows about him when he drops him back off at the shelter just in time for Stacy and Stevie to go to bed is that he's super nice. Sam swears he's shared his entire life story, and Blaine talked as much as he listened but Sam can't recall any real details like things Blaine likes or does or wants.

He resolves to make an effort to shift the conversation over to Blaine the next day when they're both helping out in the kitchens. Blaine isn't at all as smooth when he has to talk about himself, Sam discovers quickly, at least not when he's unprepared. He segues seamlessly into asking about Sam but then seems a little confused when Sam turns it back on him again and again.

The conversation is a bit stilted but Sam learns that Blaine likes almost everything, but nothing quite as much as music, he's the lead vocalist for the Warblers, and he's good at fencing and polo. He's taken up boxing as well, but wishes he could play football. He's too small to play, and Dalton doesn't have a team anyway. After dinner he learns that Blaine really likes kids too as he happily folds himself down next to the pink table in the playroom for a tea party with the girls and drops dramatically to the floor (veering mid fall to avoid the jenga tower) when Frankie shoots him with a nerf gun.

Blaine comes by every day after Warblers or polo or fencing and Sam asks him why he's wearing his uniform one day when he's a little late and apologizes, saying that polo ran late, because surely it would have been more comfortable to change into sweats or something when he showered. Blaine says something about being as inoffensive as possible. Sam realizes that the reason Blaine shrinks down and pulls his arms into his body at the shelter isn't that he's nervous or anxious; it's his way of looking non-threatening.

Blaine looks surprised when Stacy, at the start of their third week at the shelter, attaches herself to his leg and demands a story, which Sam can't understand because from what he can tell entertaining the children seems to be a significant part of what Blaine does, but follows her dutifully into the room and sits down on the side of her bed. A few of the other children trail behind them and Sam lets them settle in on his bed while Stevie tucks himself deep under the covers.

_I'm going to tell you a secret, one that no one knows but me._

His voice loses the polite lilt it's had all day and Sam feels himself relax as he seats himself on the floor, allowing Klara, one of the younger girls, to settle in his lap.

_I have a twin sister. Don't tell anyone!_

Sam can tell Stacy is about to ask why and catches her eye, gesturing for her to wait.

_Not even mom and dad know, because when we were born, a long time ago, my sister and me, seven years ago, she ran straight out and hid behind the rosebush at the bottom of the garden._

The way Blaine captures everyone's attention so effortlessly is one of Sam's favorite things about him, and it's much clearer when his audience is a group of children listening to him tell them how Ylva-Li, his twin doesn't call him Barbro (his real name), but always calls him Most Beloved Sister. Everyone is facing him, already waiting with bated breath. Somewhere in his mind there is a voice that says the kids would probably pay attention to anyone telling them a story, but he really wants to believe that it's the smile that just looks happy and nostalgic and the voice that sounds like there is nothing he would rather be doing.

_Ylva-Li likes me so much. Dad mostly likes mom, and mom mostly likes my little brother who was born last spring, but Ylva-Li just likes me._

Blaine isn't a seven year old girl, nor does he have a secret twin sister hiding in the rose bushes, but he sounds like he wishes he did.

Ylva-Li is the queen in a golden hall, hidden under the rosebush and she and Blaine (or Barbro) share a secret language where the name of the rosebush is Salikon and they go on adventures in the woods on their horses with gold and silver manes and hooves and play with their dogs and visit the most beautiful valley in the world where only they are allowed to be. Sam has let himself be transported into the valley with them when Blaine's voice cuts through.

_Ylva-Li grabbed me tightly by the arm and said "Most Beloved Sister, you must know something." And my heart hurt, so badly, just then._

Sam finds himself echoing Barbro silently as she insists she doesn't want to know anything.

_"Most Beloved Sister" Ylva-Li said._

Sam stops himself from blocking his ears. It's just a children's story after all, but Blaine sounds a little like the words are causing him pain and Klara is hugging his left arm tightly and he knows he's not going to like what Ylva-Li has to say.

_"When Salikon's roses wither, I'll be dead."_

Blaine goes on, as though he hasn't just set every heart in the room in a vice, and tells them all how he rode back in tears and returned home to a mother out of her mind with worry.

_She took me in her arms and cried and said: "Dear child, where have you been? Where have you been all day?"_

_"Behind the rosebush." I said._

_"Thank God, oh, Thank God you're here."_

There is a puppy in Barbro's room that is the most adorable puppy in the world, even more adorable than her dog down in the golden hall and Barbro doesn't sleep all night.

_This morning, when I went out into the garden, I saw that all of Salikon's roses had withered, and there was no more hole in the ground._

Sam imagines Blaine snapping a book shut because that is the only way the end could have been any more clear. Blaine's smile is all comforting and polite again and he's not at all Barbro anymore.

"That was a sad story." Stacy says, and she doesn't sound put out or upset, just melancholic in a way Sam didn't know five year olds could.

"No. Barbro didn't need Ylva-Li anymore. Sometimes we need a place to go and someone who cares when no one else does, but then we have to let go of those things after a while. Barbro had her parents and her brother and Ruff, and Ylva-Li had to move on."

The children seem to accept this as gospel and Stacy leans down to him and whispers "I need you forever, ok?"

Sam kisses her on the forehead and reassures her that he'll be there as long as she needs him and then some and stands up, careful not to shift Klara, who has dropped her head onto his shoulder and is making little snuffling noises, and making his way out, following Blaine who has picked up the twins from down the hall. They manage to get everyone situated and Blaine says goodnight to everyone before leaving.

Sam is in bed, listening to his siblings snore quietly, when he realizes what he'd felt like he'd been missing during the story. There was something familiar about the rosebush, Salikon, and he realises he'd been pronouncing it wrong in his own head. No one said the name of the shelter, but he had read it in the lobby the first day. He hadn't noticed it at first, but now that he has he can't stop thinking about it. He mutters it to himself and snickers to himself when Hermione pops into his brain saying "make the AH nice and long". S-ah-lick-on. Salikon.

He thinks back to the things Blaine said after the story, about needing a place to go and someone who cares and it seems obvious that that is where the name comes from. He wonders who told Blaine the story and if he used to live there too. When he drifts off to sleep Blaine isn't Barbro, he's Ylva-Li, not that Sam is planning on telling anyone that he had a dream about his siblings' bedtime story, much less that another boy took the starring role in one of his dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N:)

This is disjointed and awkward, for which I can only apologize.

* * *

When Blaine shows up the next day, as usual, and sets about helping with dinner preparations, as usual, he doesn't really look at Sam, as usual. He's never rude, never ignores him if Sam speaks, but he seems more distant with Sam than anyone else at the shelter and Sam would be lying if he said it didn't smart.

Sam asks him about it, after dinner when they're both in the music room that Liza says used to be a bar. Blaine is all apologies before Sam has even gotten to the part where he feels hurt and Blaine visibly steels himself before telling Sam that he's gay. When Sam tells him he doesn't care he's hit with the full force of Blaine's smile and he's pretty sure the room actually becomes a little brighter. The fact that Blaine has been holding back for fear of Sam's reaction to his sexuality, just like everyone told him to avoid being alone with Kurt for fear of rumors makes him hate Lima a little more.

Kurt and Blaine are both amazing guys and Sam couldn't care less about who they chose to sleep with (ok he definitely cares who they sleep with but only in the sense that they are doing it for the right reasons, not the gender of their partners).

When Sam asks about the story, the one about the little girl and her sister that Blaine knows by heart, Blaine tells him it's by one of his favorite authors. His au-pair when he was six was Swedish (when he was five it was a French girl and when he was seven it was Italian) and she read him stories by Astrid Lindgren. It's the first time he sees Blaine look really alive as he throws himself into an impassioned story about this author and how she was so well loved by the public that even though she was a children's book author one of her articles is cited as a contributing factor to a social democratic party losing power in Sweden for the first time in over 40 years.

Sam isn't actually sure what social democratic means, or progressive tax, and he doesn't really know who Astrid Lindgren is but he thinks she maybe wrote Pippi Longstocking, but he doesn't have to know either of those things to agree that it's pretty cool that she could do that.

It's kind of hard to follow Blaine's train of thought, as much as Sam wants to, because he doesn't seem to be entirely sure where he's going with his story anymore and he keeps involving both concepts and words Sam has never heard, but Sam doesn't want to interrupt; both because Blaine is so enthusiastic and it's really nice to see him that way, and because it's actually kind of nice for once to have someone assume he's smarter than he is, not the other way around. People always tend to look at his letterman jacket or his grades or his handwriting or sometimes just his face and decide he won't understand.

Blaine usually speaks slowly and eloquently, inviting everyone to join in and everything he says sounds well thought out and a little bit like he's said it a million times before, like he's familiar with the words already. This sounds impulsive and it's a little like looking into Blaine's brain because he's clearly trying to say something but he doesn't have it readily available. It's interesting to watch him come close to a point he wants to make before his mind drifts to something else that's equally important.

Sam reigns in his own thoughts and tries to take in whatever it is Blaine cares so much about and he's sure he's missing a lot of it but Blaine's eyes flash when he talks about how you can fundamentally agree with, and support, something or someone, without following blindly, and his hands go even more crazy when he tries to get across that doing what you love and making a difference aren't mutually exclusive and politicians aren't the only ones with a voice so Sam files those points away in the little mental box of things to remember about Blaine.

* * *

Sam is still a little shell-shocked from the disaster that was Rocky Horror week when Mr Schue announces that they'll be competing against the Warblers and the guys all spend most of their planning time discussing who should go to Dalton as a spy and before he knows it he's volunteered, citing his experience with all boys boarding schools as his qualification. He can't tell if Kurt is disappointed or relieved when everyone agrees and stops pestering Kurt to go.

Dalton looks a lot like Blaine acts, in a way that makes sense in Sam's head but not at all to his mother when he tries to explain it to her later. It's all class and old world charm and somehow comforting without being comfortable.

He considers sneaking in and actually spying, following Puck's mildly insane plan that includes a faux uniform but he settles for signing in as a guest and saying he wants to visit Blaine Anderson, promising to wait for the fifteen minutes that are left of class, Puck doesn't have to know. Signing in has the bonus of coming with the room number of the class room Blaine will be leaving and as it's Thursday afternoon that will make spying on his Warbler practice a lot easier than wandering around the school listening for singing.

Blaine is the last one out of the room, still speaking to the teacher as she locks the door, nodding and smiling at him all the while, but he spots Sam leaning on the wall opposite and beams, his whole face lighting up again as the teacher shoos them both down the hall. "Sam! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at McKinley?"

"Puck bailed me out of my last two classes so I could come here and spy on you." And Puck was definitely not going to hear about his execution of the spy plan, whatever the results of his recon were.

"You're spying on me?" Blaine raises his eyebrow and tilts his head like he does when he doesn't know what to ask about first.

"On the Warblers, you know, for glee."

"Oh, right, of course, you guys are our competition for sectionals." Blaine still looks a little non-plussed and Sam wonders if his first instinct was right and it is actually the New Directions that are weird. Spying seems over the top for high school glee competitions. "Well, you're just in time for practice; we can go for coffee after. Did you drive or are you hanging around and I'm driving you back home?"

"I took the bus. I can get home though."

"No, don't be silly, as long as you don't mind making a quick trip to the library before we leave I'm happy to drive you, I'm heading over there anyway. Oh shoot, we're going to be late."

Blaine takes off down the hall, Sam's hand grasped firmly in his, somehow managing to dodge the entire student body by ducking into an inexplicably empty hallway.

"Warbler Blaine, running late again?"

"Sorry, I was talking to Madam Lorentz and then I ran into Sam here. He's here to spy on us."

"Well that's adorable." The three boys, the council, all give him the same vaguely amused look Blaine did. "So Sam as in...?" It's a leading question and Sam realizes it's not his last name they're after so he stands back and lets Blaine answer.

Blaine blushes. "Yes." Sam can only assume he's been talked about but everyone smiles a little wider so he just gives an awkward wave and sits down when one of the Warblers makes room for him on a comfy leather couch. He shifts uncomfortably for a while they discuss songs for sectionals and it sounds a lot like they've already not only learned all the songs, but have narrowed it down to their top five already and whatever he reports back to Puck he's probably going to lead with 'they're organized'.

People keep smiling broadly at him and he's not sure why but they keep looking back at Blaine so he assumes it's something Blaine has said about him and knowing Blaine he's probably blown one of Sam's talents way out of proportion. He offers to step outside before they vote on their set list but everyone just looks at him questioningly.

David is the one who speaks up first. "Really it might be sensible to share set lists before competitions, it would eliminate the risk of accidentally ending up with the same artist or even song." And sure, that makes sense to Sam too, but that doesn't seem to be how the New Directions see it.

He interjects with their viewpoint. Paranoid as it may sound, they do kind of have reason to be suspicious. "But it would kind of increase the chance of intentionally having the same songs right?"

There is a collective intake of breath because apparently the Warblers are less paranoid and well...insane, but not less dramatic. "That would be unsportsmanlike. Unsportsmanlike conduct is against the Warbler by-laws." Wes' tone is clipped, but it's not an admonishment to Sam, it's a warning to every Warbler in the room. Sam isn't sure what Wes can actually do if someone breaks the by-laws, but if he were in a position to find out he would avoid it.

"Apparently Vocal Adrenaline did it to New Directions last year." Sam explains.

"That is vile behavior and grounds for disqualification." Wes sounds legitimately disgusted by the very idea of cheating and Sam is suddenly really glad he went with honesty because sneaking around isn't the first impression he would want to leave Wes with.

Jeff, the blond boy who had made room for him, pitches in. "We've never been up against them. The Warblers have traditionally only competed in a capella championships, we only became a competing show choir last year and we weren't in their group."

Eventually they settle on a list of three competition songs and two backup songs, in case another team ends up having chosen the same. Actual practice starts when Wes bangs his gavel and declares the list finalized. Sam doesn't know if he should be surprised at what happens next, but he is.

Blaine loves singing. Blaine is good at singing, like really good. These are two basic facts Sam knows about Blaine and they count toward the 'shouldn't be surprised' stance. Blaine loves being part of a group and has spent what probably amounts to several hours explaining how every part of an a capella group is vital and even a solo isn't really a solo it's all part of a harmony.

What he expects to see is Blaine rising and joining the ranks of the Warblers, all neat lines and making weird but totally awesome guitar noises like he demonstrated for Stevie and Stacy when they asked what a capella was.

What he sees is Blaine standing up, smiling brightly and waving a hand, and everyone else just falling in line behind him. Sam looks at the group through the first verse of a Maroon 5 song and as much as Blaine might consider himself a part of the group, it's pretty clear that everyone else considers him their undisputed leader. The council had been in control of the meeting but they happily fell in behind Blaine with everyone else, looking like an odd mix of fans and proud parents.

By the time Blaine hits the first chorus he's apparently gotten so far into his performance that he's forgotten that Sam is his only audience because he's projecting energy to fill stadiums, or maybe he always rehearses at full tilt, it's hard to tell. Sam gets hit with the full force of Blaine Anderson's show face and he's not at all prepared when the energy escapes it's admittedly quite small prison and Blaine goes flying out of formation, bouncing onto the back of one of the couches and that is apparently the signal to everyone else because the two stepping lines break off and they step forward into a half circle with some Warblers dropping into a more complicated choreography.

Blaine continues to command them like his zombie army from his various precarious positions, at one point dropping down next to Sam, allowing his head to fall on Sam's shoulder with an exaggerated pout, before bounding up over the side-table again, stomping on it as the others find an appropriate wooden surface and knock out the beat.

Sam gives them a standing ovation and receives beaming grins in return and everyone lets Blaine leave with Sam in tow. Sam swears he can hear them start talking about him as soon as they pass through the door but they all seem nice enough so he ignores the feeling. Blaine drags him along by the hand again, first to the library to pick up a book Blaine has reserved, and then to the cafeteria where Blaine hands him a cup of coffee and offers him a seat.

* * *

One day when he comes home after football practice Jane, one of the women who has always spared him a smile, screams in his face and cowers until he's run down the hall into the kitchen and he doesn't come out until Liza comes and tells him it's ok. When Jane sees him at breakfast the next day she explains and apologizes and Sam goes to school with his letterman tucked deep in his gym bag and feels a lot less proud of the M sewn into it. He leaves it in his locker when he goes home the next day.

* * *

****The first time Sam sees Blaine in anything he would call casual is a Saturday when Blaine has told him to come by after he's had breakfast, but clearly not counted on Sam having breakfast before most of the others wake up. Blaine is wearing sweatpants and a tank top and no shoes and more shockingly, no hair gel. He's surprised by the curls, still a bit wet and very springy looking. Sam thinks they look awesome and wants to tell him so but his hair is the first thing Blaine has admitted to disliking except social injustice and animal cruelty so Sam also doesn't want to tell him he's wrong for not liking it. In the end he'd rather have Blaine be comfortable sharing his feelings than his untamed hair.

It makes him a little sad when Blaine comes out of the bathroom and there seems to be even more gel than usual but he shrugs it off and when he's back at the shelter, drawing character sketches for his comic book Blaine's hero alter ego gets a full head of wild curls even if Blaine would probably argue that it should be the other way around. The curls remind him of Blaine when he speaks before he thinks because he's too into what he's saying, or when he sits down at the old piano in the music room and forgets Sam is in the room at all. Of all the bits and pieces of Blaine he likes to keep separate, passionate Blaine is his favorite, even if he doesn't really notice Sam.

* * *

Blaine looks like he's been crying one day and Sam waits until he's told his story to the kids to ask what's wrong because the New Directions are great, but Blaine's kind of become his best friend and someone needs to check on him while he's checking on everyone else.

Blaine shakes his head and mumbles about it not being important and him being stupid. Sam wants to tell him he's the smartest person Sam knows but he knows Blaine doesn't mean the kind of stupid that would keep him from learning foreign languages and dance routines and memorizing entire books and having proper opinions about politics in countries Sam would struggle to find on a map.

Sam doesn't press when Blaine says something under his breath about disappointing everyone because he can tell the difference between things Blaine doesn't want to say and things he doesn't want Sam to hear and he's ok with pretending he doesn't know Blaine is feeling the pressure of trying to be perfect again. He slings an arm around Blaine's shoulders and keeps teaching him Na'vi and promises himself that he won't hold Blaine to the standards to which the shorter boy holds himself because one day he's not going to be able to meet them and someone needs to be there to tell him that's ok.


	3. Chapter 3

General disclaimer.

* * *

Blaine convinces Sam to go to the local cinema with him for a marathon of old Superman movies, even though Sam can't afford it and doesn't want to mooch off Blaine, and the movies are awesome, but what happens after is even better. There are a bunch of guys who come up to Blaine while Sam is still in the bathroom and Sam comes back just in time to hear Blaine state flat out that he's gay.

It obviously sucks that Blaine has to deal with hate from random douches just because he goes to the movies, but Sam realizes two things when Blaine spots him over the shoulder of douche number two. The first is that Blaine trusts him to have his back in a fight where they're outnumbered, which is pretty cool. The second is that Blaine isn't afraid that someone will beat him up for being gay, he'll happily say it to strangers with angry expressions and he never really hesitated because he thought Sam would hit him, a thought that has been lingering at the back of Sam's mind with all the warnings about singing with Kurt. Blaine hesitated to tell Sam because he knew Sam wouldn't hurt him, because he liked Sam, and because he cared about how Sam felt about him.

It's been weeks since they had that conversation, but Sam is so happy after his epiphany that he immediately (as soon as they get in the car at any rate) shares it with Blaine, who blushes and mutters that of course he cares. It takes Sam another few hours to figure out why that was something to blush about and he goes through all the time they've been spending together and how Blaine always blushes when someone compliments him (and people do...a lot), but blushes extra hard when Sam says something about how his hair looks or how one of his songs is really epic and Oh...

He lets the fact that his best friend has a crush on him sink in as he listens to his younger siblings snore lightly.

It's definitely flattering because Blaine is super smart and really talented and Sam knows he's an attractive guy, even if he hasn't really thought about him like that and he's not sure how many gay dudes Blaine knows, but he's pretty sure Blaine would have no problems getting any one of them (like Thad, he could definitely have Thad) so yeah, flattering.

It's clearly not something Blaine is comfortable with though, or he would have told Sam about it when it started. That has to change somehow.

The thing is that Sam has never thought about kissing a guy before, but now that kissing Blaine looks like an option it's really hard to not think about it.

He's definitely not going to do anything until he's figured himself out, because if he tries something and it doesn't work out and then Blaine gets hurt he's pretty sure he'll lose Blaine completely and it would be a disaster of epic proportions. Even if they say they're still going to be friends Blaine will fall back into his controlled self around Sam and Sam knows enough about Blaine by now to know it's not a cover or anything, it's just one part, and it's the part Blaine thinks people will like so it's the one he gives the world and being part of 'the world' sucked enough before he knew what he was missing out on.

If Sam knew what was going on he could handle this. If he didn't like Blaine back, he could tell him he knows about the crush and it's totally not awkward and kind of flattering and they could move on and Blaine wouldn't feel obligated to try and hide feelings from him. If he did like Blaine back, he could ask him out and they could go on awesome dates and hang out with added making out. They would be epic boyfriends. He doesn't know though, and that makes everything really hard.

Ideally he would just not mention it until he's figured himself out, but Sam likes to think he's pretty self-aware, and he's good at knowing what his weaknesses are. One of his weaknesses is definitely doing stuff without thinking, or more accurately, he can't think and not do things at the same time. If he sees Blaine and he's still wondering what it would be like to kiss him, he's probably going to kiss him, which would only be awesome if he realizes he really likes Blaine and they get together after. Even if he does manage to not randomly molest his best friend out of curiosity, he's totally going do something to trip the weird spidey-sense Blaine uses to find out if someone needs a hug and then Blaine will ask him what's wrong and Sam will blurt everything out.

Puck isn't actually the first person he would choose to talk to about his new discovery, or his minor sexual identity crisis, but he is a friend, and he's the only one of Sam's friends that is likely to answer his phone at two AM so Sam calls him and wanders down to the café down the road to wait for him. The waitress looks tired and a little surprised when he walks in and he steadies her tray as she trips over air. She smiles sweetly at him as she takes his order and he glances quickly at the menu before ordering the cheapest thing on it, mentally making sure he has enough money for a tip because he always feels guilty when he sits around for too long with just a drink.

The woman smiles down at him and she reminds him so strongly of his grandmother he almost slides his shoes off. "Hon, it's two in the mornin' and you're already shakin' like a leaf, are you sure you need coffee?"

He means to change his order to decaf, even though he doesn't really drink coffee and coffee without caffeine seems totally pointless, but when he opens his mouth his filter seems to disappear. "I think I might be gay." And that is one of the many reasons he needs to figure things out before he sees Blaine.

"Aw hon, I'm going to go get you a stack of pancakes." Sam opens his mouth to protest. "Don't worry child, it's on the house. That kind of thinkin' shouldn't be done on an empty stomach." She reminds him so much of Grandma Evans this time that he stands up to hug her and she just chuckles and retreats into the kitchen. When she returns she slides into the booth across from him. "Come on now, tell Mabel all about this boy that has your head in a spin."

It feels a little weird to be spilling his problems to a complete stranger, but Mabel is really nice and his mom always says talking helps, even if the person listening doesn't know what to do. "He's super smart, and like really classy and stuff and he can sing and play the piano and he's really good with kids."

Mabel smiles at him. "Sounds like a keeper to me." Which is true, Blaine is all kinds of awesome, but that's not the issue. If Sam is gay or whatever, Blaine would be like the perfect boyfriend, obviously, the problem is if Sam isn't gay.

"Oh he totally is. He's my best friend. But you know he likes me and I don't want to do something and then figure out that I just like that he likes me and then have everything be messed up." Sam looks out the window and notices Puck hopping out of his truck and heading for the door. He grins and waves as the bell rings out in the empty diner.

Mabel looks at Puck and raises an eyebrow. "That's the boy?"

"What? Oh no, that's not Blaine, that's Puck, he's a friend of mine, I asked him to meet me here."

Both her eyebrows shoot up at Blaine's name as she gets up from the bench. "Blaine? Blaine Anderson?"

"You know him?"

Mabel has the fond smile on her face again as she shakes her head at him. "He would find another boy who thinks coffee makes a good midnight snack. Good luck hon, but if you do date him, both of y'all need to sleep." It's the only thing she says before she shuffles back into the kitchen.

"'Sup Big Lips? This better be good." Puck slides into the seat Mabel just vacated and grabs Sam's still more than half-full plate, stabbing one of the pancakes immediately.

"Actually I'm thinking you're going to file it as neutral. I need to talk to someone I trust about something private." He hopes expressing his trust in Puck will be enough to convince Puck to actually keep it secret, but if worse comes to worst Sam knows a lot of people at McKinley already think he's gay so it probably won't make much of a difference. It's not like Puck knows Blaine anyway.

"You got the clap?" Sam blinks.

"What? No. I would hope STDs are negative. Nothing like that. I think I kind of like someone."

Puck shrugs and pours so much syrup on the pancakes Sam's teeth ache in sympathy. "Dude, I know you've been chasing Quinn, we all know you've been chasing Quinn, but my advice there is to steer clear. Shit is about to go down with the whole triangle she has with Finn and Berry."

"Yeah, we went on that date at Breadstix and she didn't seem all that into it. No, it's not her. It's um...Blaine."

"What kind of a name is...wait. Your man-crush from gay-Hogwarts? You know I didn't think you were actually gay. People keep talking but I figured it was all bull considering you stare at Britt's ass the same as the rest of us and your eyes glaze over when Hummel goes off, again, just like the rest of us." Sam kind of wants to hug Puck, because everyone has told Sam how Puck was an ass last year but Sam pretty much just came out and Puck just acted like he said he liked lacrosse.

"I'm not sure I'm gay."

"Fine, so you're bi. Or you're just hot for this Warbler dude." And now Sam is feeling a bit guilty for doubting his decision to call Puck.

"Yeah; He's just..."

Puck holds up a hand to stop him. "Dude, I am willing to put aside how fucking gay this is because you seem like a cool dude, but I am not sitting here listening to you ramble about some dude's eyes. Get to the problem. Is man-crush not gay?"

"He is."

"So he wants the D, you want his...not seeing the problem here." The good thing about Puck is that he's always blunt, Sam never feels like he's missed half of what's said, that less good part is that Sam tends to spend a good deal of their conversations blushing.

He shakes his head slightly and powers through the slight embarrassment caused by new mental images that were probably going to be just as hard to get rid of as the kissing ones. "I don't know if I like him like that. I'm pretty sure he likes me, and I think I like him...probably, but I don't want to fuck it up. Like what if I'm just curious or whatever?"

"So don't tell him."

"I can't lie to him, and he's going to know something's up and he's going to ask about it."

Puck sets down the fork and fixes Sam with an uncharacteristically serious look. "So you found out he likes you today?"

Sam nods rapidly. "Yeah."

"And now you're thinking about making out with him?"

He blushes again. "Well I mean not right now but..."

Puck grins at him as he hides his face. "You so are. And then you panicked and couldn't sleep because you're afraid of ruining shit with your GBF so you called me in the middle of the fucking night."

"Sorry."

"Dude, you want to kiss him, you care about his feelings so much you can't sleep and you're telling me secrets and by the looks of things when I came in you came out to a random waitress. You want him alright. I don't care how nice you are Evans; no dude goes this batshit for their totally platonic bro."

The next day is stressful to say the least. Sam wakes up at seven and realizes he's already promised to spend that day with Blaine and by the time he's dressed and eaten Blaine is already waiting for him with a small frown and a really good hug and a look that says he'll give Sam a few hours but he will find out why he needed a hug.

Blaine has invited Sam to one of his a cappella competitions with the Warblers and he tries not to look out of place with all the parents milling about the lobby and the Dalton students who have come out to support the Warblers. He realizes too late that he's managed to wander over to the wrong end of the crowd and finds out that a cappella supporters, while possibly less prone to violence, are every bit as territorial and mean as football fans can be. There's a stand where they're handing out cans of a drink labeled 'Warbler Blood' and Sam is about to go over there and...well he's not sure what exactly but he feels like someone needs to tell them that's rude and unnecessary.

Before he can make his way over Blaine's face appears suddenly in his field of vision asking where he's heading. When he points to the stand Blaine just laughs and asks him to get one for him as well, because they won't give one to someone wearing the blazer. Sam wonders out loud if the whole thing isn't meant to be offensive and Blaine just laughs again before saying that it probably is. Westerville High have apparently had some kind of a cappella rivalry with Dalton forever and the drink has been around for years and they call it Warbler Blood because it's blue and highly caffeinated. The Warblers laugh it off because it's a little bit true and they can laugh at themselves sometimes (so long as it doesn't conflict with the Warbler bylaws or traditions), and also because it's apparently really good and tastes of blueberry and cinnamon and sunshine (which is apparently what Blaine thinks caffeine would taste like if it wasn't just a tasteless drug he was addicted to).

Sam manages to convince them he's from one of the other schools and to give him a crate of the cans to pass out to his 'family and stuff' who were already finding their places. The Warblers crowd around as he wanders into their dressing room, feeling a lot like he's at work, delivering food again, until Jeff hugs him suddenly. Wes thanks him profusely all the while slapping away Blaine and Jeff's hands from the crate and telling them they're not allowed caffeine or sugary drinks before the performance, citing heartburn and throat trouble as the biggest threats to their success. Sam grins at the playful pouts and tells them if the opposing team knew they felt that way they would probably be more than happy to provide the drinks.

Jeff looks at him like he's just divulged the path to the lost treasure of Atlantis and Wes preemptively sticks his arm out in front of the younger boy to keep him from leaving the room, frowning at Sam like his mother does when she thinks he's encouraging Stevie to make a mess. Sam imagines meeting Wes is a bit like meeting Blaine's parents and then he panics a little more because wow, if he does start dating Blaine he's actually going to have to meet his parents who are rich and really smart and travel everywhere and host parties where Blaine has to wear a tux and Sam is homeless and dyslexic and has no idea what the point of the extra forks in the drawers at Blaine's house are for and he definitely can't speak a gazillion languages and...

"Sam, are you ok?"

Sam opens his mouth and prays that nothing will come out that he'll regret later. "Your mom hates me!" Ok. Sam can work with that. It's a bit random, and the way Blaine's head tilts and his neck gets longer and he blinks slowly says he's totally confused, but it's a lot better than 'I think I'm gay, wanna make out?'

Blaine blinks again and he opens his mouth twice before answering. "Sam, you've never met my mom, and my mother doesn't hate anyone, she doesn't deal in emotions that intense. Do you want to tell me what brought this on?"

Sam clamps his mouth shut and shakes his head, opening his arms for another hug, which Blaine happily gives him before shooting him a pointed look that says they're going to talk again later, which is fine because it's not like Sam was never going to tell him, he just needed to think some more, and talk to someone. Like his mom. His mom would definitely know what to do.


End file.
